What Friends Are For
by Xenolord
Summary: Gale brings home a friend from School one day. Next in the ShoujoAi Chain.


Disclaimer: I don't own crap. Expect Maria and Jess.

What Friends Are For

Maria stretched out on the couch putting her arms behind her head, yawning. While she was partially glad the Devourer was finally gone, she was sad to see the combat days of Lore fade to nothing. All she had to do these days was laze around the house, hit on Safiria and help Gale with her homework. Once you get the first thing and third thing out of the way, the days were bearable. The door opened with it's usual creak.

"Welcome home, Gale. How was school?" Maria asked, her eyes still closed.

"Awesome hey mom?" Gale spoke in one breath.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if a friend comes in for a bit? Her mom's outta town, and he dad's coming home tonight, so until then, she's SoL on a place to stay."

"Do I ever mind you bringing friends home, Gale? The more the merrier. Beside the obvious space issue, I'd care less if you brought the whole school home." Maria smiled. That would be an interesting sight. Gale bringing everyone from all her classes home. Hell to feed, though.

"Come on in, Jess." Gale muttered.

"Your house is... much nice, Gale."

"Very nice you mean." Gale corrected her. The girl had poor common. Maria sat up and smiled, preparing to greet the girl. In all of Maria's forty years, she had never come across something so... interesting.

The girl named Jess stood about two heads taller then Gale, had green, scaly skin, and bright red eyes. Her tongue flicked the air every now and then, getting a taste of everything. Yup. You guessed it. This girl, was one hundred percent Drakel.

"Well, a friend of Gale's and a Drakel to boot. Come on in!" Maria smiled, urging the girl in.

"Is this... Maria... or Sapphire?" Jess asked.

"This is Maria. And it's Safiria, not Sapphire." Gale laughed slightly. Jess just mouthed 'ah' and moved in.

"I am not well... spoken?" She asked to Gale.

"Versed is actually the proper term. You're not well versed."

"Ah, yes. Of course. Please excuse me, Maria Despair. I am not well versed in your language or customs."

"_Kista vara ka. Diadra koi._" Maria responded simply, her voice hissing in the Drakel tongue.

"Ah! You know my language. Prehaps this will be simpler then planned." Jess smiled. Maria returned her smile and motioned her to sit.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Maria continued.

"I have always wanted to try this... soda... Gale speaks of... perhaps you have it?" Maria nodded and went to retrieve one for Jess.

"So, Gale. You never told me you had any Drakel friends." Maria spoke through the kitchen.

"You never really brought it up, mom. Didn't feel the necessity to bring it up myself."

"I didn't bring it up, because then you might brand me as a racist. When did you two meet?" Maria continued, giving Jess the glass.

"About... what? Two months ago?" Gale asked, more to herself. "Yea, about that."

"I was going to locker when boys... er... distract?"

"Attack. You mean attack." Gale corrected Jess again.

"Yes. Thank you. I was going to locker when group of boys attacked me. Gale assisted, defeating them."

"Shoulda seen the looks on these guys faces when a little girl whooped all six of them silly." Gale smiled to herself, rather proud of the fact.

"That's my girl. Helping those in need."

"Gale and I went out that day. On date..." Gale about spat out her water.

"Lunch! It was only lunch, mom, I swear!" She tried to cover up.

"But you said it was considered date..."

"I said it COULD be considered a date!" Gale continued, a blush growing on her cheeks. Maria laughed heavily. The door opened and shut again.

"Kitten! You here?" Safiria's voice rang out.

"Silly question, Safiria."

"Good afternoon, Gale." Safiria spoke, hugging Gale.

"Afternoon, Safiria." Gale replied.

"Ah, so this is... Saph... no, Safiria..." Jess corrected herself.

"Safiria, this is Jess. She's a friend from school." Safiria eyed the Drakel.

"Funny. I didn't think the Drakel allowed their children to attend human schools." Safiria muttered.

"I am Drakel born... but... human parents. Mother and father humans." She smiled.

"Ah. So it's like Gale and I. Did Gale ever tell you she was adopted?" Maria asked.

"Moom!" Gale groaned. "You're embarrasing me..." Maria smiled.

"I love telling this story. A few years back, a good friend of mine, name's Serras. Anyways, Serras and I were out runnin' a mission for our good captain. Frostval Eve, I kid you not. He had us out, knee deep in snow on a false alarm. So Serras and I were coming back, and I hear this whimper..." She continued to tell the story.

"So... you were rescued?" Jess asked Gale.

"Yea... yea... mom tells that story to everyone."

"It's a good story! Shows how good my hearing is!" Maria smiled. Gale simply rubbed her temples. "So. When are you finally going to tell me why you dyed your hair?" Maria continued. Gale groaned loudly.

"GOD! Are you gonna get off it? I like green! Besides. Your hair color is nice." Gale responded. Maria smiled.

"You're becoming more and more like me every day."

"Kitten?" Safiria asked from the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"You have something on the stove?" Maria sniffed the air.

"Oh, crap!!" Maria threw herself from the couch and ran into the kitchen. "Craaaaap!" She moaned, taking a burnt porkchop off the surface.

"Haha." Safiria smiled. She walked through to the living room. "You mother, Gale. Can walk through fire. Devistate ranks of vicious monsters, destroy Scourge after Scourge, but she fails miserably at such simple things as cooking." Safiria simply muttered. There came a knock at the door.

"Augh. I told Natalya not to forget her key..." Maria took the food off the stove and set it aside, going to the door. "Hello?" She asked, opening it. On the other side was a man dressed in a rather smart suit. "Well hello. Can I help you?" She asked.

"This going to sound... really strange, ma'am, but... is there a young girl living here named Gale?" The man spoke.

"Yes. May I ask why you're asking.

"I know how strange this is going to sound... but... My name is Kyle Anarand. I'm... Gale's father." Maria's eyebrow went up at the words. "I know... I know... I don't sound credible, coming after so long... but you have to understand! The house... it caught fire abruptly... My wife and I barely escaped. I went back in for Gale... but I couldn't find her... I thought she was dead... I had to get out before the smoke claimed me, too... I've been looking all these years for her... And I saw someone who looked like her getting off that bus... I had to ask..." Maria's face didn't change.

"You can come in. But don't try anything." Maria muttered, showing the man in.

"Thank you, kind woman." The man spoke. Maria led him into the parlor where Gale and Jess were sitting, happily drinking.

"Gale. This is Kyle Anarand. He claims to be your real father." Maria muttered as an introduction. Kyle smiled and waved slightly.

"H-hi." Gale muttered, waving. Just as the first time Gale met Maria, she had that same uncertainty in her voice. Maria looked down at her watch.

"Maria. Captain Krieger wanted you to investigate that call in the Dwarfhold, remember? He's gonna be livid if you don't." Safiria muttered.

"Ahhhh... crap. Yea. Gale, Jess, you girls be good and stay here. Mr. Anarand, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, if you'd be so kind."

"Of course. Just seeing Gale again is enough to keep me going." He stood and walked to the door. "Sorry to bother you..."

"Despair. Maria Despair."

"Thank you, Mrs. Despair." The man left. Maria went back to Gale, gave her a kiss on her head, then to Safiria, whom she kissed on the lips.

"Be back in a bit." She spoke. "Keep a watch out for Serras and Natalya, would you?" She asked Gale.

"Sure thing."

"And don't just sit on the couch. Get up and move." She told Gale and Jess. With that, she punched in some buttons on her watch, formed a portal, and entered. Once Maria was gone, Safiria sighed.

"Gale, I hate to do this to you and your friend, but Zorbak has requested my aid for something. So, I must leave you two with the house. Be good. Food in the pantry." She muttered. She, like Maria, created a portal and entered. Gale stood, and looked at Jess.

"So. What do you want to do?" Gale asked. She walked to the door to lock it.

"Well, we could-" Jess' sentence was interrupted by the door exploding open, a loud "HAHA! Got you!" And Gail screaming at the top of her lungs.

"JESS! HELP! HE-" Gail's screams were muffled.

"Gale?!" Jess shouted, throwing herself up. The Drakel tore out from the house, and followed the muffled screams out.

There was one thing neither Gale, nor Gale's abductor knew about Jess. And that was, while she struggled in subjects such as Math, History, and Magic Studies, she excelled in two other subjects. Science, and Track. Drakel were natural born runners and sprinters. Something that was about to become apparent.

"HEY!" Jess shouted. "_Kika garatar Gale! Kika garatar ek!_" Jess shouted in Drakel. The man could be heard laughing from down the road. Jess persevered after him, charging on. The man took a turn across a grass embankment, jumping over. Jess adjusted her body position, making her body more aerodynamic. Her speed doubled. The distance between the two closed quickly. Even from this good distance, Jess recognized the man as Kyle Anarand. She knew she smelt something fishy about that one. Stopping momentarily, Jess pounced across the gape, knocking Kyle's legs out from under him.

"Gah!" Gale tumbled from his grasp and hit her head, rather harshly, on a rock. "You... little Drakel girl. You'll pay for that!"

"You mistaken. Gale is friend. You hurt friend, you get hurt. I not know much common, but I do know how to kick ass!" Drakel were, not only natural runners and sprinters, they were also natural hand-to-hand fighters. The man drew a sword and stood at the ready.

"No one is going to stop me! No one I say!" He growled. Jess, undetermined by being not only out aged but out gunned, held firm. "Gale is MINE! I won't let anyone take her away from me! Not again! Not EVER!"

"Insane..." Jess muttered. "Completely insane..." The man only laughed. Kyle was the first to attack, making a wide swing downwards. Using her superior agility, Jess managed to dodge it. Jumping onto her hands, Jess followed through with a kick to the man's back. Groaning, he stumbled forwards. "I'm faster then you. I win." Jess spoke again.

"I don't care if you're faster! I'm stronger!"

Her vision was slowly coming too. The hit to her head had made everything all swirly. She couldn't make out the details, but all she could see was a man in dark clothing fighting with a tall, thin reptilian figure.

"J-Jess?" She groaned lowly.

"She's MINE!" The man shouted.

"She happy with Maria and Safiria!" Jess continued, dodging another attack.

"You don't know that!" Kyle continued.

"I know she will never be happy with someone who force themselves on her! I know, as a friend, she rather die then be with you."

"I would rather die then live without her! She's my daughter!"

"With father like you, maybe death your only option..." Jess continued.

"Ha! Try it!"

"Gladly!" Jess continued, dodging his next attack, and digging her claws into his back. The man released a screech and fell to the ground. Jess walked to Gale and helped her up. "Are you alright, Gale?"

"Ugh... y-yea. I am. What happened?"

"You have nasty fall. It alright now."

"Jess... you... you saved me..." Gale muttered.

"In the words of great man. What are friends for?" Gale threw her arms around Jess and smiled, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"You're all scaly." Gale giggled. Gale's laugh turned to a gasp of shock. "Jess! Down!" The Drakel spun around to see Kyle charging her with his sword out. With a quick swipe of her tail, Jess knocked Gale to the ground and followed suit. The man rolled, then recovered.

"FINE! If I can't have her, NO ONE CAN!" He held his hand out and began summoning a fireball. Jess, thinking quickly, grabbed a sharp stone from the ground and threw it at him. The rock and the fireball left there owner's hands at the same time, crossed each other, and hit their opposing targets.

Kyle went down quietly, the rock lodging itself in his throat, blood flowing freely. Jess found that fireballs that connect with your face, hurt a lot. She was knocked into the air, spun about seven times before landing face first and sliding a good three meters.

"JESS!" Gale shouted, running to her friend. The Drakel was lying face down, not breathing. A small wisp of smoke rose from her face, and vanished. "JESS! NO!" Gale rolled the Drakel girl over and pressed two fingers to her neck. No pulse.

-

Jess' eyes sprang open. She was standing in a room lined with a few chairs. Each chair was filled with a person of around fifty or up.

"Have a seat. We'll get to you in a moment." A female voice cooed. Jess did as she was told, sitting in a newly open seat. She looked around, questions in her head.

"Hello?" A voice asked to her side. She turned to see an elderly man looking at her.

"Hello." Jess spoke in return.

"How old are you, little one?" The man continued. Jess smiled grimly.

"Eighteen."

"EIGHTEEN!?" He shouted in shock. Jess nodded. "My dear, you shouldn't be here. What are you doing on Death's Doorstep?"

"A man tried to take my friend from her house. I chased, and in the end..."

"HA! I have the last laugh, you Drakel whore!" A man shouted before her. Jess sprung up, looking to the source. It was the very man she had attacked.

"Mayhap you have 'last laugh'. But it is I who has victorious!" Jess retorted.

"Je'ssathra?" The female receptionist asked. Sneering, Jess walked to the counter. "Death will see you now." A cold chill surging up her spine, Jess walked into the door labeled in big, eerie black letters "DEATH". She inhaled, and entered.

"Welcome to my realm, my fr-HOLY!" Death shouted as he saw who had entered. Standing, brushing his cloak aside, he walked to her. "A Drakel. Fantastic..." He paced around her. "You've not gone to Ren-Arak... so that must mean... you don't follow Drakel Customs..." Death looked at her. "A Drakel in my realm. Fascinating... How is it you came here?"

"I protected a friend from a madman... we killed one another in process." Death thought for a moment.

"Is this friend anyone I know?"

"Gale Despair." Jess answered quickly.

"Ha ha. Just kidding. I know everyone. But Gale, you say..." He turned away from Jess and thought, placing a bony finger on his chin. He began muttering things the Drakel couldn't hear. Quickly he spun around. "My dear Je'ssathra! I am going to make you a deal!"

"Y-yes?" She answered.

"I will return your spirit to your body, under one condition."

"Name it." She continued. Death leaned closer and whispered into her ear. A frown crossed her face. "No. I refuse. My life is not worth Maria's. Besides. Gale loves Maria. I will not harm Gale so."

"Oh... she loves Maria, huh?" He held his hand out, showing a wisp of the surface.

-Battleon-

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T SAVE HER?!" Gale bellowed at Orta, tears streaming down her face, her cheeks red with anger.

"It's just like it sounds, Gale. She's already dead. My skills become useless once someone dies. You want an Undertaker. Not a doctor."

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Gale continued, rubbing her eyes. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY, DAMNIT!" She sniffed heavily, wiping her eyes. "Can't you... Can't you revive her? Anything?!" Gale tried to calm down.

"No. Once the Devourer died, all the resurrection Magic fizzled. The best we can hope for is that Death cuts her a deal." Gale's eyes began to blur, tears forming.

"She was my only friend... the only one who liked me... The only... the only..." She couldn't hold her sadness in anymore. Throwing her head back, she began crying loudly. He body locked up, her arms hung limp.

"Orta!" Maria's voice called. "Have you seen- GALE!?" Maria ran to Gale. "Honey? What's wrong?"

"I- we-" Gale tried to speak though her tears, but couldn't form two words.

"Apparently that man who you met earlier today, Maria, tried to kidnap Gale. Jess here gave chase and... saved Gale at the cost of her own life. She was dead when she came to me..." Orta explained. Maria swore loudly and very much audibly.

"Are you okay, Gale?" Maria asked.

"I'M NOT THE ONE DEAD! I'M FINE! I'M NOT IMPORTANT!" Gale screamed, a mix of anger and sarcasm in her voice. Maria just kept nodding and stroking her hair.

-Death's Realm-

A tear ran down Jess' face. Gale really did care about her alot. But... she couldn't ask Maria to trade her life for Jess'. Jess just continued to stair at the portal.

"Listen up!" The image of Maria spoke. "If you're watching, I don't care WHAT Death wants! Let him take it!" Jess closed her eyes. She couldn't bear to see Gale in pain.

"I take your deal..." Jess muttered defeated.

"Excellent!" The wisp in Death's hand vanished. "Up you go. And remember our deal." Jess just nodded as the room disappeared.

-Battleon-

Gale's wailing was what greeted Jess back into the world of the living. Jess opened her eyes, the room swimming. Trying to regain her bearings, the Drakel sat up and look around.

"Holy Creator..." Orta muttered.

"Well, I'll be..." Maria continued.

"JESSY!" Gale shouted, pouncing onto her friend.

"Hello, Gale. Miss me?"

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Gale looked up, tears in her eyes. With her thumb, Jess wiped Gale's tears away. Smiling uneasily, Gale kissed Jess again, hugging her tightly.

"Gale..." A slight voice was muttering to herself, inaudible to anyone else. "I love... I love.." The voice sighed. She was trying to get something worked out. He inhaled. "I love you, Gale." She finally decided on. Someone had told her they saw Gale in the infirmiry. So that's where she was going to. Coming to the door, she inhaled again, getting ready. She opened the door and started immedietly. "Gale, I l-" The figure was of Kira Anasi, one of Gale's better friends. She was slightly younger then her, but still they were close. Kay froze, staring at Gale kissing Jess. "I... I..." She stammered like a broken record. Even though she kept repeating the same words, hurt was evident in her eyes and voice. After a while, Kay finally snapped out of it. Tears began running down her face, Kay ran out crying, throwing a bouquet of flowers from her hands.

"I do something?" Jess muttered. Maria placed her hand over her forehead.

"Things... have just become complicated..." She motioned to leave, but a cold gust stopped her.

"Not so fast, Despair." Death hissed. "Je'ssathra here has promised me your soul in exchange for her life. So cough it up."

"O rly?" Maria asked. Death nodded.

"Ya rly." Death smiled.

"Jess? Did you?" Gale asked, slightly depressed.

"No wai." Maria continued.

"I... yes..." She replied. "But not at first! I refused at first, I did not want to hurt you more, Gale... but Maria said... she didn't care what Death wanted..."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Maria asked. "Okay, Death. You win. You can have my soul."

"I-I can?" Death stammered. Maria took her shoes off.

"Yep. Both of them." She tossed the skeleton her shoes. "Here you go. My soles. Needed a new pair, anywho." She smiled.

"What?" Death muttered, catching the shoes. "No... NO! Not THOSE soles!"

"You said you wanted my soul, Death. Not my ETERNAL soul." Maria grinned. Having been cheated again, Death growled.

"Curses! CURSES! FOILED AGAIN!" And with that, he vanished. Everyone in the room laughed. Maria flashed the thumbs up.

"And get a room, you two!" Orta growled to Jess and Gale.


End file.
